Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
by bioniclejab
Summary: Kurt Hummel was eight years old when his world changed forever. When he meets new-kid-second-grader Blaine Anderson, he finds one of the greatest friends he'll ever have, and quite possibly the love of his life. - This story starts when Kurt & Blaine are in the 3rd & 2nd Grade respectively.
1. You've Got a Friend in Me

Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

* * *

Kurt was eight years old when his world changed forever. In that one year, everything seemed to happen so fast.

It was a Tuesday just like any other. Kurt would wake up, eat his breakfast, and put on his outfit his mother or father chose for him the night prior and he would go to School. He was a good boy; he got all A's, he did his homework before he got home, and he smiled and played like any other boy would. However, the playground was another story. The boys there were just _**so **_cruel that Kurt would have to hide for the 30 minutes allotted for Socialization & Playtime. Kurt had made his own personal sanctuary beneath the slide. The Jungle Gym was shaded by the trees, so it wasn't too hot, but the sun did make it through the cracks in the branches. Just enough so that Kurt would have one ray of sunshine to write or hum a pretty tune. But this one Tuesday ended up being a bit off-schedule.

There was a little boy there, smaller than Kurt. At first Kurt shyly approached the boy, but when he heard a bit of sobbing, he quickly approached the boy confidently with the hopes of helping the child.

"What's the matter?" Kurt crouched to his knees to get to a better height, which really wasn't that drastic of a difference, but he still did. The other little boy had no response; he only whimpered, and peeked at Kurt through the little window he was able to make with his elbow. "My name's Kurt. I can help you," Kurt acknowledged,'' In my Boy Scout Troop, I learned First-Aid. I even got a patch for it and everything!" The little boy lifted his head, allowing shaggy dark curls to fall to his forehead. He blinked his brown eyes which were ringed with red from the crying as he looked to Kurt, whose bright blue eyes glistened thanks to that one ray of light.

"M-My name's Blaine." The small boy sniffled. Kurt studied his face and ultimately confessed to him, "I've never seen you around here before." The small boy's face frowned as he too confessed something to Kurt, "I'm the new kid." Kurt had never been the new kid, only the weird kid who preferred to play with the girls if he ever did retreat from his under-the-slide Fortress of Solitude. But he did understand the feeling of alienation, even if he couldn't put it into words just yet.

"I didn't know we had a new kid." "Well, I'm in the second grade." He sniffled. Kurt scrunched his nose and twisted his mouth to the side, as he was obviously upset by the sad younger boy. "Well, why are you crying, Blaine?" Kurt questioned with a sympathetic face. "The other boys said my bowtie was stupid." His teary little eyes lifted up again to look at Kurt. Kurt smiled, which at first shocked Blaine. "I happen to think your bowtie is very nice!" Blaine looked slightly confused and yet happily surprised at the same time. "Really, you do?" Kurt nodded quickly,"Yupp! I have one just like it at home. I'll wear it tomorrow if you'd like!" Blaine's face showed an expression of disappointment and defeat. "But we don't have school tomorrow."

"Oh, that's right." Kurt remembered they had the next few days off for Thanksgiving. Blaine sniffled as Kurt's eyes lit up. "Well, come to my house tomorrow! Do you know where you live?" Blaine shook his head, his curls following behind him, a few seconds later. "Well, here." Kurt pulled out a pen from his back pocket and scribbled something on a sheet of paper he had ripped from his custom-made journal. Each page said, 'From the Desk of Kurt Hummel,' which Kurt _**had **_to have because it sounded so official and he loved to imagine himself in the future as a successful actor or singer or a writer.

* * *

_**From the Desk of Kurt Hummel**_

34120 North Meadows Drive, Lima, Ohio, United States of America

* * *

"Thank you, Kurt." Blaine paused for a few moments. "Are we friends?" He interrogated a little more hard-headed then he had wished. Kurt smiled, not taking even a second to reply, "We could be **best **friends if you'd like! Do you like tea parties?" Blaine's shoulders rose & fell as he lightly shook his head. "I've never been to one." Kurt was surprised & utterly delighted. "We'll have a tea party then! Do you like Dress-Up & Imagining? I love imagining!" Blaine nodded, which resulted in a high pitch squeal of delight by Kurt. Kurt continued to interview his new best friend, his journal open wide. "Do you like Disney Movies?"

Blaine's frown quickly grew into a large grin as he spoke quickly, which a habit was inherited by his mother when they would speak about something that they are very passionate about. "My favorites are The Little Mermaid, Snow White & Peter Pan. I wish I was Peter Pan!" Kurt smiled. "I've always wanted to be Tinkerbelle or Wendy!" And on that note, the bell rang for the children to return to their classrooms to finish up the day.

"What's your last name, Blaine?" The bowtie-clad boy and the third grader stood still whilst children hustled & bustled about them. "Anderson." Kurt smiled and held his hand out, which Blaine eagerly shook. "Nice to meet you, Blaine Anderson!" "My pleasure!" Blaine said as he shook the boy's hand. He had been trained to say so by his father in preparation of one of his many business-dinner parties. As Kurt skipped off to the third grade hallway, Blaine looked at his hand. He couldn't believe how soft Kurt's hands were, and he just wanted to keep his own there. He felt comfortable for the first time since moving to Lima.

The children all moved back to their respective classrooms and packed up their book bags as they waited for the dismissal bell. In Kurt's classroom, the last fifteen minutes of the day was free time, so Kurt wrote in his journal.

* * *

_**From the Desk of Kurt Hummel**_

Blaine Anderson. Second Grader.

* * *

And for the fourteen minutes after that, he just stared at the name.

In Blaine's Second-Grade classroom, they were supposed to color. The teacher told Blaine to color his favorite part of his first day at school. Blaine drew a slide, and underneath it were two boys, both in bowties, their hands clasped together. When the bell rang, Blaine quickly stuffed it into his backpack and smiled.

* * *

Kurt rode bus #309. They had assigned seats, and at the beginning of the year, they could choose who they sat with, but Kurt didn't have any friends on bus #309, so he sat by himself at the back of the bus. As he clutched his backpack, he stared at the kindergartners who blew raspberries at him at the front of the bus as he squinted his eyes to make himself look tougher. He darted them away for a few moments.

Blaine got on his bus, praying it was the right one. He handed the bus driver a note that said that this would be his bus for the rest of the year. The old lady smiled a wide grin and said, "Welcome to bus #309." Kurt looked up and his eyes lit up in an instant. He jumped up, waving his arms side to side ad he yelped, "Blaine! Blaine Anderson!"

Blaine smiled and pushed his way through the maze of backpacks and limbs until he reached the very last seat. "Hiya, Kurt!" Blaine sat down right next to the older boy and grinned. Kurt was ecstatic! "You must live near me!" Blaine nodded. "My teacher says I live on Oak Valley Lane!" "That's the street right next to mine!" "There's a park right by it, right?" Kurt smiled, clarifying that his best friend now lives right near him. "Yepp! I live in the house in front of it. We have the same bus stop, so I'll walk you home." Blaine nodded. "That's a good idea!" "Why's that?" "So you can meet my parents!" "Oh, yeah!"

"So, Kurt..." Blaine looked up at Kurt, slightly confused thinking about their earlier conversation. Kurt turned his head to Blaine and tilted it ever so slightly to the left. "Yeah?" "What exactly do you do at a tea-party?" Kurt chuckled, as it was common knowledge to everyone, what exactly you do at a tea party. "Well, you drink tea and eat snacks and dress nice and act very polite and even dress up as Princesses or Princes!"

This made Blaine very excited. "I want to be Prince Eric!" "Well, then I'll be Ariel!" Kurt nodded. Blaine raised an eyebrow. "You can't be Ariel!" Kurt made a face that was not only angry, but it too, was confused. "Why not?" Blaine spoke with the exact tone Kurt did when he was explaining the premise of a tea party. "Because you won't be able to wear your bowtie! Why don't we both be Princes?" Kurt frowned. "We can't." Blaine looked defeated. "Why not?" "Because they can't get married in the end."

"Why not?" Blaine asked. "Because they just can't in real life." Kurt said, very upset about the topic. But Blaine had a solution. "Well, we're imagining, and you said you love to imagine! So, let's just imagine that the two Prince Eric's can get married." Blaine took the chance to grab Kurt's hand again, still as soft as ever while Kurt blushed as hard as an eight year old possibly could. Kurt gave the younger boy's hand a squeeze as the bus came to a stop.

* * *

As the boys walked off, their hands were still clamped together, when they were greeted by Elizabeth Hummel. "Oh! Who's this?" She questioned, noting the inseparable duo, and nodding her head towards the little boy in a bowtie. "This is Blaine Anderson, mommy. He's new! He's in the second grade. I told him I'd walk him home." Blaine nodded and spoke up, "Kurt said we could have a tea party at his house tomorrow, Mrs. Kurt's mom!"

"Oh, sweetie. Call me Elizabeth." She chuckled sweetly, "I'll go talk to your mother, Blaine!" The boy's mouths curved into grins as they held hands, following behind Mrs. Hummel like lost puppies.


	2. The Word That Stings

Blaine's dad was busy setting up his office, so Kurt's mother had to talk with Blaine's mom, Marie. They suggested that Blaine show Kurt his room, because once the two women began talking, they wouldn't be stopping for a long time.

"Wow, your room is so much bigger than mine." Kurt said, astonished by the size of the house that was only a street behind them, but seemed like a completely different neighborhood.

"That's probably because all my toys aren't in here, yet." Blaine smiled, "So." He hopped onto the bed where Kurt sat, and he pulled his feet in so that he could sit 'criss-cross-applesauce.' Kurt said it was 'Indian-style , but Blaine begged to differ.

Blaine's older brother, Cooper, popped into the room. "Hey, Blaine?"

Blaine looked over. "Yeah, Coop?"

"Hey, do you know where my DVD's are?"

Blaine shook his head, and looked at Kurt while his brother groaned and ran back down the hallway.

"You have a big brother?" Kurt questioned. Blaine nodded and scrunched his nose up.

"Yeah, but he doesn't really like me all too much." This made Kurt think, 'Would it be nicer to have an older sibling who didn't like you or none at all?' He determined that both situations were flawed and neither seemed like fun.

* * *

Blaine stood up and put his fists on his hips. "We should imagine!"

Kurt stood up & copied the boy, standing slightly crouched so he could be eye to eye with Blaine. "What are we gonna imagine?"

Blaine took Kurt's hands and jumped, as he thought of an idea. "Well, tomorrow the Princes are getting married, right?" Kurt nodded. "And we're having a tea party, right?" Kurt nodded again, as the two bounced.

"Well, someone has to poprose in order to get married."

Kurt chuckled. "Blaine, I think you mean propose." Blaine blushed at his mistake, but he shook it off.

* * *

Suddenly, Cooper ran in. "Kurt, your mom is leaving!" The boys jumped off the bed and Kurt raced down the stairs, Blaine trailing behind with his things. Elizabeth and Marie chuckled and turned to the twosome who stood, in the doorway with their socks on.

"Boys, guess what? Miss Marie & I decided that tomorrow at eleven, Blaine can come over to play. Would you like that?"

The boys laughed in delight and clapped, "Really mom, I can?" Blaine inquired, his eyes and smile wide.

"Of course, sweetheart," Marie confirmed, "Elizabeth, I'll call you ahead of time…" The boys ran into the foyer so that Kurt could get his shoes on.

"Kurt, don't forget your bowtie, okay?"

"Don't worry, Blaine! I'll wear it!" Kurt assured him.

"And we can sing and dance and eat snacks and imagine, right?"

Kurt laughed. "Yes, Blaine. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Kurt stood up, his laces tied tight, and his pants freshly brushed off.

Blaine slightly hesitated, but gave Kurt a hug to his own disbelief.

"What was that for?" Kurt pondered, his cheeks a whole new shade of burgundy.

"For being there. For being my best friend." Blaine said, his face looking down at his socks.

Kurt, chuckled, and put his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. "Don't worry. We've only known each other for a day. I'll be around for a much longer time." Blaine hoped that was a promise Kurt would keep. Kurt didn't doubt it for the world.

* * *

After Kurt had left, Blaine's mother helped him set up his desk in his room, surprising him with all new art supplies to stock it up with. After a strong hug by Blaine, Marie left him to his own. Blaine pulled out a sheet of paper and a box of crayons and continued to draw Kurt & himself in all sorts of adventures. He drew one where they were both pirates, one where they were both boxers in a ring, there was one where they both were Princes and the last one where they were knights and Kurt had just rescued Blaine from a fire breathing dragon. He smiled as he held the picture up, satisfied with his work. The short seven year old hung all of his pictures on the walls with tape. He stood in front of his masterpieces and rested his hands on his hips as he released a sigh.

"Blaine, is- is that Kurt?" Cooper sauntered in, just waking up from his nap and rubbed his eyes that were barely able to open.

"Yupp!" Blaine smiled and turned to Cooper. "We're going to be such good friends!" He said with a bit of glee in his tone.

"Dude, is that a heart over your head?" Cooper approached the picture and pointed the one where Kurt was rescuing him. "That's so gay."

_That's so **gay.**_

_So **gay.**_

_**Gay.**_

Blaine recognized the word, but only because some kids called him it at recess. He didn't know what it meant, but from the tone they said it in, Blaine knew he didn't like what it meant. Blaine sniffled a bit. "But it isn't gay.. Coop."

"Do you even know what gay is?" Cooper asked, his eyes peering at Blaine like a shrew's, and his hand still pointing at the drawing. Cooper was convinced that pointing would make anything interesting or important. He stood by that statement his entire life.

The teenager brought the seven year old to tears, who then sat in the corner crying.

Marie ran almost instantly, "Cooper?! What did you do?" She ran to aid her youngest son, holding him.

"I called his stupid picture gay."

"Cooper." Marie gave a harsh stare at the blue eyed older brother. "Apologize."

"But mom, dad said-"

"Now, Cooper Anderson."

"But it's-"

"One.."  
"I'm sorry I called your picture gay, Blaine."

" Now go to your room and start on that project."

* * *

Kurt was doing his homework at his kitchen table when his dad walked in.

"So, kid. Hear ya got a big playdate tomorrow!" The burly man took a sip of his coffee and looked at the boy across the table.

"Yupp! My new friend, Blaine's coming over tomorrow! He likes Disney, too! So we're gonna have a tea party and dress up and all that stuff!" Burt smiled, looking at his son. He wasn't all too much comfortable or used to the things his son did to pass the time, but he was glad to see he found someone like him. Someone he could trust.

* * *

At 7:03, the phone rang. It was Marie Anderson. Burt picked up the phone and chatted with her for a few moments, "Hey, Kurt?" The little boy came down the stairs and looked up to his dad.

"What?"

"Blaine's on the phone for you."

Kurt smiled and almost jumped at the chance to talk to his best friend.

"Kurt?" The boy sniffled. Kurt took the cordless phone and hid in the closet. Blaine did the same.

"Blaine, are you crying again?"

"My brother said that I was gay." Blaine whimpered a bit and listened for Kurt's response on the other line.

"Oh." All the words that Kurt had said to Blaine that day were comforting, but all he had was, 'oh.'Blaine was angry at Kurt for not comforting him immediately, but when Kurt spoke up, Blaine kept his mouth shut. "

"I don't like when people use that word like it's a bad word. It's a perfectly good word."

"It is?"

"It is. Cooper's stupid for saying it like it was a bad word."

"The other boys called me that when I was on the playground, too. They said it like it was a bad word, also."

"Well, they're dumb too."

"My dad says it's a bad word."

"You're dad's stupid."

"He's a lawyer, he's not stupid."

"Well, he's dumb for thinking like that."

* * *

Kurt was only eight, but he had a good understanding of the world. He felt like he was above his peers, like he was above their childish mischief. He had more important things to deal with than making fun of others. He only wanted good. Blaine wanted good, too. But he was childishly ignorant; he only saw the good in people. When their rotten side showed, Blaine couldn't handle it. He was the type to hold grudges; the type to hold his feelings inside until he was really close with someone. But he was seven. And Kurt knew that seven year olds just don't understand the concepts of good and evil.

* * *

"Kurt?"

"Yeah, Blaine?" Kurt yawned, the eight year old made a routine of going to bed at eight every night, and it was close to his bedtime. Blaine, however, seemed wide awake. So Kurt stayed on the line.

"What does gay mean?"

"Blaine, I don't want to tell you now. Can I explain it to you tomorrow?"

"You promise?"

"Pinky promise."

"You better."

Kurt pulled the journal out of his backpack and made a note on the same page he wrote on earlier, while Blaine spoke about superheroes or something Kurt didn't really follow.

* * *

_**From the Desk of Kurt Hummel**_

_Blaine Anderson. Second Grader._

_Blaine Anderson. **Gay** Second Grader._

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_Hi, Guys! I'm messing with formatting, so this chapter will be set up differently. Yeah, they're really short compared to other fanfics, but at least you get more chapters in one day, right?_

_This chapter shows Cooper as a bit bitter, only because he follows after his dad's ideals. I hope this gives some insight as to who the characters are right now, but I can certainly assure you that as time goes on, they will evolve. _

_As you already know, Blaine & Kurt are really young, so the 'whole gay thing' is kind of out of the ordinary, but I do know that kids know about it at that age, and that's when they most commonly throw the word around as an insult. The next chapter, however, will be entirely fluff, so somehow I will manage to balance out the whole bullying-fluff battle that is constantly going on as I write this. _

_I think I'm gonna start posting this on Tumblr, so if you'd prefer to begin reading it in that format, my URL is:_

_ . _

_Okay, I hope you enjoyed these past chapters!_


	3. Part of Your World

Kurt had awoken his mother at 7AM that Wednesday morning. Burt had gone down to the tire shop, so it would just be the boys and her for the day. They spent all morning cleaning and cooking, and just when Kurt had created the perfect pot of Raspberry Tea (which had taken at least nine tries) the doorbell rang. As Elizabeth went to answer it, Kurt fastened his bowtie on his best blue button up shirt. He thought it brought out his eyes the best, much to Burt's pushing for a quality solid white one. They didn't mind his choosing of this one.

* * *

Blaine stood next to his mom with a messenger bag slung over his right shoulder and a wide grin across his face. Marie chuckled over some conversation Elizabeth had started over cooking-ware or something mom-ish. The little black-haired boy managed to squeeze in past Elizabeth after being sure to give Marie a hug and a kiss, then making his way up the stairs to where Kurt was.

The Hummel's playroom was the third door to the right, otherwise known as 'Kurt's Safe Haven.' The room had a TV on a small entertainment center and the walls were stacked with shelves of dress up clothes and DVD's and board games and toys. Blaine decided that he would spend a lot of time in this room in the next few years.

"Hi, Kurt!" Blaine smiled running in, his sweater vest managing to not untuck itself.

"Blaine!" Kurt turned from setting the tea-table, pulling up his sleeve to wipe the crumbs from his mouth as he had just stolen a cookie from the platter.

Blaine smiled a toothy grin, with the 26 teeth in his mouth mostly showing. "So, what are we gonna do today?"

"Well, first we'll have tea! I can put on a Disney movie while we eat!"

"It's gotta be The Little Mermaid!"

"Of course. Then we can play dress up!"

"Let's dress-up first!"

"You're in luck!" Kurt said with a mischievous grin.

"Why's that?" Blaine asked. Even though he was only seven, the kid had acquired enough eyebrow hair to make a sweater, as Cooper liked to tell him. He also rubbed in the fact that his eyebrows were backwards, because the outside edges were thicker than the inside. Regardless, the kid was very expressive with his eyebrows. One of them rose automatically when he asked questions.

"B'cause I grew out of my old Prince Eric costume, so you can have my small one! I got a new one!" Kurt said almost jumping at Blaine's suddenly dropped jaw.

"Really? I can have it?!" Blaine asked, very glad he decided to come to Kurt's house today.

Kurt spoke as he nodded his head very fast, "Yeah, when am I ever gonna fit in that little thing again?" Both the boys slipped the costumes over their clothes, and chuckled at the other's appearance, when their bowties sort of popped out of the rim of the suit.

* * *

"Prince Eric, would you care for some tea?" Kurt asked, trying to stay polite and composite, but Blaine's uncanny resemblance to Prince Eric made him break.

"What?" Blaine partially laughing, partially hurt at what Kurt was trying to convey.

"You look exactly like Prince Eric!" Kurt's eyes went wide.

"Well, you look like Prince Phillip!" Blaine giggled, noting the boys resemblance. "Or, or, or you could be Prince Ferdinand from Snow White!" The two giggled, as Ferdinand seemed the most 'girly-lookin' Prince.

* * *

"Oh yeah! I forgot!" Blaine turned to his messenger bag and pulled out one of his pictures he drew the night before. "Look! I made us Princes!" He smiled showing it off to Kurt who was absolutely smitten by the flattering portrait.

"Thank you, Blaine! This is the best picture anyone's ever drawn for me, like ever!" Kurt was ecstatic, he was so excited to have his best friend over, and he got a gift.

"I love to draw!" Blaine nodded.

"Let's have our tea, Prince Eric!"  
"After you, Prince Phillip."

* * *

After a viewing of the Sing-along Version of The Little Mermaid and drinking tea and eating cookies and acting ever-so polite, the boys decided that it was time to play pretend.

Kurt began to rearrange the chairs in his playroom and set various stuffed animals, and bedazzled action figures and stuffed animals in, under and around them. Blaine and Kurt stood at the front of them. Blaine looked sort of confused.

Kurt almost instantly noticed the small boy's confusion and looked at him with a smile full of pure third-grade pity. "We're having a wedding, aren't we?!" Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded. "Oh, yeah…" He scratched his gelled-back hair and looked to Kurt, scrunching his nose. "But you never pop-"catching the mistake he made the previous night, "You never proposed!" Blaine shook his head in confusion, how could they possibly ever have a wedding if there was never a proposal. It was absurd!

Kurt nodded in agreement. "Well, how about you propose?" Blaine hadn't thought about it. He liked the idea, he just didn't know how. He became a bit flustered.

"I don't- Kurt, I've never proposed to anyone before, I don't know what to do, and this is a big deal!" He spoke fast, but in a different context than the day before. This time, his speedy diction was due to the fact that he didn't know what he was doing.

Kurt chuckled. "Don't worry, Prince Blaine-Eric. I'll accept no matter how you say you want to marry me."

On that note, Kurt coached Blaine on how he was to get on one knee and he did. "There! Perfect!" Kurt exclaimed as Blaine took his hands, less nervous now about his upcoming nuptials.

"Prince Kurt-Phillip, would you- will you marry me? It would make me super happy?" Blaine said as he tried to remember what he had seen in all the movies. Kurt smiled and jumped, clapping his hands together as he bounced.

"Of course!" He scooped Blaine up in a big hug. Blaine just wanted to stay like this forever.

* * *

"Will you, Prince Blaine-Eric, be my lawfully wedding husband, who smells like raspberries and puts way too much gel in his hair?"

"I do." Kurt smiled.

"And do you, Prince Kurt-Phillip, want to be my husband forever and ever, and do you promise to watch Disney movies all the time with me and give me hugs when I'm sick?"

"Only when it's not contagious." Kurt quipped.

"Deal." And the boys shook on it.

Kurt went to grab a cookie, when Blaine went to ask a question.

"Isn't there.. Isn't there a kiss when you get married?"

Kurt froze and turned bright red.

"You.. You want to kiss me?"

"Well, we can't get married unless there's a kiss, I think."

Blaine noted Kurt's sudden change from calm to nervous. "Here, we can kiss each other on the cheek and then one day, when we're older, we can really do it. I mean, if you still want to by then." Blaine asked, with his face down looking at his feet.

Kurt nodded and walked to the smaller boy until they were nose-to-nose and looked him straight in the eye. They both took one deep breath and after a countdown, they pecked each other's cheeks. Blaine first, then Kurt. Both boys held their cheeks with their hands, flabbergasted at the actual fact that just had happened.

They nervously giggled and then decided to color.

* * *

There was about 10 minutes of silence before Kurt said anything. "Can you uh- pass the red crayon?" Blaine gladly did.

Blaine was drawing them getting married on one of the sheets of construction paper he had brought with him in his bag.

Kurt, however, wrote in his journal.

In red crayon, the two boys signed the paper and giggled.

* * *

_**From the Desk of Kurt Hummel**_

On November 21st, 2001 Kurt Hummel & Blaine Anderson were married in holy mattressmony.

X Kurt Hummel X Blaine Anderson .

* * *

At around 4 o'clock, Blaine and Kurt went outside to go to the park, being sure to take off their Prince getups. They got on the swings, and Kurt kicked and pumped until the chains almost gave out, often resulting in a high pitched shriek.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked after staying on the swing, not actually swinging, more of… literally staying in one spot, occasionally twisting.

"Yeah?" Kurt slowed his swinging, as he could tell that what Blaine was about to say was important.

"You promised. You pinky promised you'd tell me." He looked up at the boy who came to a complete stop.

"Oh, right."

Blaine looked at him, waiting for him to actually begin explaining.

Kurt seemed stumped, when he couldn't get the words out. He didn't want to yell at Blaine for asking, but he was mad it was brought up. He had spent all afternoon, avoiding it.

"I guess I kind of showed you what it meant.." the blue-shirted boy stated kicking the mulch with his shoes.

"Huh?" Blaine had been confused all afternoon, but now, he was entirely in a state of complete and utter confusion. He could comprehend nothing based on what Kurt said.

"It means when two guys are in love." Kurt said, sort of abruptly and looked at his feet.

"Oh." Blaine said. Another awkward silenced made its way into the conversation. "Then I don't see why it's such a bad word. That's a good thing, right?"

Kurt looked at Blaine, completely shocked that he was unlike the other boys. He nodded, looking confused and mumbled just loud enough for Blaine to hear; "Yeah, it's a good word."

Blaine smiled and began to pump his feet.

"I think I like that word." He grinned as Kurt smiled and pumped just the same.

* * *

_Author's Note_

_Hey! I hope you all like it so far! _

_I know this chapter is **so** full of fluff, but how could I resist?!_

_Also, thanks to the 10 people who have decided to follow this! I literally thought this would be completely unnoticed, but thanks to you guys, you've made it worthwhile._

_Don't expect updates to always come this fast, I've just been in an insane writing mood this weekend, and it totally helped the matter that I've had nothing to do!_

_I'm thinking about a time-jump coming up soon, so when it does come, be weary as it'll probably be a sad one. Or I may not go with the flow of 'Canon –River' and completely alter the story. AU's are fun like that, right?_

_But seriously, you guys. Thank you _**SO** _much for continuing to read this and enjoy it. It really means a lot that people are coming back to read it, and as my first fan-fiction (as opposed to RP) I think it's coming out pretty nicely. So, thank you all for being amazing and MWAH! :*_

_~ Rex_


	4. Candle in the Wind

_A/N Here: _

_This chapter is going to be completely different from the prior ones. As this one is very sad and upsetting, creating a change in the characters, you may see some new ideals or attitudes being shared. There is a triggering warning for this chapter because it is very upsetting, and I found myself struggling to write it because of the new light I shed on the characters and their new emotions. There's a slight time-jump from this chapter from the last one. Expect about 2 weeks to have gone by. I will have maybe one or two more chapters with the boys at this age, before jumping them a few years. I hope I was able to portray the two at this age, because honestly I feel like I made them act way too immature. (x THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING THIS STORY! You have no idea how much it makes me smile and encourages me to continue when even the smallest amount of people decide to keep reading. Keep writing reviews! They're like crack to me! Anyways, OH. OH MY GOD. I FORGOT, I'm writing BONUS CHAPTERS for the boys at this age, and they will begin to be posted on the site this weekend. You guys will love them! There will NOT be any angst or tragedy, it will only be pure, unadulterated KidKlaine FLuff. So, look forward to that! Feel free to completely skip this chapter if you don't want to see the Kurt-Burt interaction. It's really sad, and please, review it?_

~Rex

* * *

Just when things were going great for Kurt; he gained a new best friend, got the distinguished honor roll (all a's) , learned to love himself just a little bit more, everything went wrong.

It was three o'clock in the morning when Kurt was awakened by the sobs of his father. The sound was completely foreign to the boy. Sure, he had heard his dad yell until tears ran down his eyes, but he had never heard his dad truly cry before. This... This was different. The sound pierced the eight year old's ears.

He jumped out of bed and ran downstairs only to see his father, the "Most Masculine Man in the World," Burt Hummel, sobbing on the black stained bench that sat in the hallway closest to their front door.

Two officers stood before him as one spoke, "She passed peacefully in the ICU about twenty minutes ago." Kurt's small, pale hand made its way to his mouth. His small jaw trembled below his face as the men speak. Burt's vulnerable cries suddenly changed into a horrific infuriated yawp, "WHY DIDN'T THEY..." It broke and Burt backpedaled into a smaller, weaker voice, one that would probably have fit Kurt's body more than the voice it was coming from. "W-Why didn't they call me? I should have been there!"

"Sir, Elizabeth Hummel arrived at the Hospital approximately 45 minutes ago. The doctors did everything they possibly could to stabilize condition, but she left us after being put into a drug-induced coma. We stopped at the scene of the crash on the way over here, and retrieved her personal items from the driver's car."

"That's when we found her license and saw that she, unlike the other women had a family-"

"She has a family-" Burt retorted, hyperventilating.

" , yes. That's why we stopped by."

"It wouldn't be fair had we waited until the morning as instructed."

"It's not fair, you never called me!"

"Burt, we're reaching out to you, you're a good man, you're good for the community and the town loves you, we just.. we wanted you to know she left peacefully."

Kurt gasped in horror, resulting in the taller cop to turn around, his face immediately expressing pity.

Burt stood up, his face scrunching into the worst shape Kurt had ever seen as the tears flew down his face, trickling into puddles on the floor that seemed to become Lakes of Sorrow.

"Kurt! My son, come here!" Kurt took a few steps back, his face fully expressing the terror and horror he felt inside. Kurt tried to run back up the steps, not fast enough as Burt forcefully picked him up into the most meaningful hug Kurt had ever received, holding each other as the two sobbed in unison. The shattered breaths as their chests rapidly rose & fell became synchronized. Kurt let out a scream, that could only be described as one of the saddest sounds in the world. The other would being a parent losing their child.

Even the Officers shed some tears. That night, they hugged their children and kissed their wives. They had to realize that life can be so brutally ripped from a person's grasp. And in the scheme of all things, saying 'I love you,' is the least they could do on a daily basis.

For the first time in Kurt's eight year old life, he couldn't breathe. He would experience true heartbreak for what he hoped would be the last time in his life.

* * *

That morning, the Hummels didn't sleep. Burt had to make the calls. He flipped through every address book they had acquired over the years and called every family member and friend whose name was written on the pages. When someone dies, you have to cancel every bill, every subscription, every credit card; you have to notify Social Security and they'll have a death certificate made.

Then comes the funeral plans.

Burt found himself crying as he read an article online explaining that one had to decide to either cremate their loved one, or bury them in the ground for years to come. It would probably be one of the hardest decisions he had ever made.

* * *

"Hey Kid?" Burt Hummel asked as he stood at the doorway of his only son's bedroom. The house was empty, and since it was no longer graced with Elizabeth Hummel's presence, the habitants felt the loudness and happiness wouldn't ever return.

The young boy continued to stare at the colorless ceiling that had spackled many times before, and mumbled a single, "Hm?"

"You haven't moved in three days, Kurt." Burt said, tears freshly pooling in the apex of his eyes. "Have you even eaten the food I made you?"

The eight year old- the much darker eight year old, looked at him with a blank stare. He murmured, "Mm not hungry anymore." He stated with literally no emotion present. Burt scoffed at him with the tears freely falling out of his

glazed eyes.

"Kurt, kiddo. You're killing me. Y-You gotta do something, buddy."

"You put her stuff in the basement."

"Buddy, I just couldn't look at it."

"You just threw her away."

"Kurt, I would never-"

"You don't even care that she's gone."

"Kurt Christopher Hummel, don't you -ever- say that I don't care that the love of my life is gone. I've cried everyday, every night, every hour for the past few days. I loved her with every inch of my being. And now she's gone, I don't know what to do with myself anymore."

Kurt turned away and looked out the window at the park that he and his mother had been to every week of his life. He looked at the bus stop that he and his mother and walked to every morning and every afternoon she'd be there when he returned. He couldn't imagine life without that routine. Those little moments, he cherished. Without showing his dad the true sorrow he felt in his heart, he mumbled, "Mmkay, Dad."

Burt retreated to his bedroom, where he sat down on the edge of his king sized bed. What was the use of a bed that big without a queen? He pulled out his flip-up cellphone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hi, you've reached Elizabeth Hummel! And Burt! And Kurt!" The family all giggled on the other side of the line, Burt inwardly puckered his lips at the sound of the past. The Hummels were frozen in time, and he only wished it could return to that. You could hear a big kiss on the cheek of Elizabeth and little (at the time 5 year old) Kurt noting his dad had no hair. "I can't get to the phone right now, but I'll return your call as soon as possible. We love you!" And on that note, you could hear the Hummels coaching Kurt to blow a kiss and he did, immediately being succeeded by a beep. Burt jumped.

"If only you could."

* * *

Later that day, much to Burt's dismay, Kurt had not eaten a morsel of food, nor did he move from the same spot in his bed. Burt dialed a number on his phone and waited for the answer as he sat at the kitchen counter.

"Hi, Marie? Hi, yeah, this is Burt Hummel. Listen, Kurt was wondering if he could have a sleepover with Blaine? Awesome, thank you. No, he hasn't moved since. He won't eat, Marie. Really? Oh, you guys don't have to do that. Thank you so much, we'll be over in a bit. Alright, see you soon." Burt looked out the window for a few moments before getting up and walking down the hallway.

"Kurt, get dressed and pack your things. We're going to Blaine's house."

* * *

Mister and Misses Anderson sat Blaine down the morning after the accident and decided to have a talk with him.

"Sometimes, God works in mysterious ways, son. He felt that it was time for to return to heaven." The small gel-haired nodded his head, his mouth scrunched, obviously upset by the entire ordeal.

"Just think of it this way, Miss Elizabeth is an angel now, watching over and Kurt." Blaine's heart dropped to his stomach as he could only imagine the inner turmoil his friend must be experiencing. "Son, do you have any questions?" Marie asked, her eyes expressing sadness as she had grown fond of Elizabeth in the past few weeks.

"Did the driver kill her on purpose, mommy?"

"No, no. Honey, no. Miss Elizabeth and her friends went to see a musical at the theatre downtown, and a man was very intoxicated-"

"He had too much alcohol, son."

"And his car swerved and hit Miss Elizabeth's right where she was sitting."

The small boy's head swirled and he vomited right on the floor in their brand new kitchen.

* * *

Marie hung up the phone and called Blaine downstairs, sitting him in front of her.

"Blainey, Kurt and his father are coming to dinner and Kurt will be staying with us for a few days, okay?"

Blaine completely disregarded what had happened for the past few days and smiled, because when a child learns that their best friend will be staying with them for an extended period of time, they only think of the good times, and how much fun they would have.

"Now, honey. Kurt hasn't been feeling very well lately, so has given you the job of cheering him up. Do you think you could do that?"

Blaine nodded, smiling because of his newfound responsibility. "I think I can handle it."

pressed her thumb in between of Blaine's chin and lower lip, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He closed his eyes and could only think. He needed to repay Kurt a favor. And a very big one.

* * *

_PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!_

_That was literally the hardest thing for me to write, and I hope you enjoyed it to a point, the last chapter before the age jump is this next one, and like I said, the bonus chapters will be up soon. It'll probably be called, 'Wouldn't it Be Nice?' So, when you see that, I hope you'll be all: "KIDKLAINE FLUFF AND FUN!"_

_So, thank you for reading and thank you for reviewing and I will see you next chapter! _


	5. Above Us? Only Sky

_Oh my god, kill me. I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE APRIL._

_Like I have insane writer's block. Kill me, please. Hahaha._

_So, this is a relatively short chapter as it was all that was done in that span of time. I had TONS of ideas for how I wanted the KidKlaine storyarc go with Kurt's mother's death, but I couldn't settle for just one. Therefor, I had them jump a few years into their preteens._

_This is primarily due to the fact that I really want to get into Blaine's POV for the next few chapters really, as I believe it was around his late middle school years that he came out and I would like Kurt's family to help him the way that Blaine's did for Kurt. This may cause some angst when Blaine finally decides to come out, but for now Blaine's going to experiment with the idea of dating with Kurt, as in my AU, Kurt has always identified as gay and the whole S1E where Kurt tells his father will be completely different in context, I'm guessing._

_So, here's a quick filler chapter that includes the timejump and a slight intro into the next chapter. I'm sorry I'm such a slacker, it's just school was insane for those last few exam-filled months and I'm going to definitely work on this for the remainder of Summer and forever how long afterwards that it takes to finish this._

_May take years._

___**OKAY**__, read on!_

* * *

At approximately 5:25, Burt Hummel showed up at the Anderson's door as expected. Burt maintained a genuine, yet painted-on smile on his face, where Kurt conveyed a look of indifference. As if that was even possible.. Kurt rang the doorbell and a teenage boy eating an apple answered, dressed in a sweater worn over a button-up shirt and tie. He had blue eyes and looked much different to Blaine, but there was an obvious tell-tale of their relation, the eyebrows. With his freehand, he took Burt's and apologized for his inappropriate eating habit but shook it and introduced himself.

"Hi, you must be Burt. I'm Cooper." He took a bite of his apple and nodded to the man. It then moved to Kurt's hair and scruffled it (much to Kurt's dismay) and lightly patted the side of his cheek. "Sup, Porcelain?" Burt raised an eyebrow and was about to comment before he was interrupted by the youngest Anderson brother who sped down the stairs in record time and glomped his best friend with the biggest hug either of them ever had received.

Kurt smiled for the first time in what had seemed like forever.

"Hiya, Kurt!" Blaine pulled away with a grin, and bright eyes. His hair was slicked back with gel, much like when they had dressed as Princes, and he nodded his head as he spoke.

"Hey, Blaine." Kurt replied, not feeling as numb as he did prior.

Marie had motioned Burt to come inside and told the little boys that the table was still being set and that they should retreat to Blaine's room. Mister Anderson lightly hit the back of Cooper's head, overhearing the short-lived conversation he had and for the apple that would 'ruin his dinner.'

The men sat down and talked about sports whilst Blaine & Kurt rain to his room.

"This is my new trundle bed!" He motioned to the bed that pulled out from under his own. He explained to Kurt how they had quickly run out to buy it with Kurt in mind.

Kurt smiled and blushed the slightest bit at the gesture. He was too little to really understand acts of kindness, but he could feel its true meaning. "Blaine, I'm only staying for like three days." He stated, hoping not to crush the younger boy's spirits.

"Oh, I know!" Blaine replied. He grinned, just as goofy as ever. "But, I figured you and I can have even **_more _**sleepovers now that you officially have a bed at Chez Anderson." He nodded, showing an obvious lack in clarity of his understanding at what he just said.

"At what?"

"I don't know. Cooper's been taking French and it sounds like a pretty fun language. I bet they get to eat French Fries _all _the time." Blaine joked.

The boys shared a giggled as Blaine took Kurt's things and set them on his new bed.

"I'm gonna take French in Middle School!" Kurt mentioned as he looked at his (temporary) room. It wouldn't be temporary, Kurt thought. He would be spending a lot of time in this room.

"Boys, Dinner!" Mister Anderson called.

* * *

"And so Burt, if you need any legal advisory or someone to represent you in this ordeal, you can come straight to me. I won't require any payment or reimbursements." Stephen Anderson stated to the man sitting to his left, as he sat at the head of the table.

"Oh, Steve. That's not necessary. I'll pay for it and everything and actually I've been meaning to contact you about what my next step in all this should be." Burt replied, he knew he couldn't pay those attorney bills plus the cost of a funeral, but his pride stated otherwise.

"No, look." Stephen nodded to the boys at the end of the table. The two were laughing and giggling and telling jokes. They both had remained very polite during the entire dinner and now as things were dying down; they released all the juvenile giddiness that boiled up inside of them.

"Blaine's been one to be targeted when it comes to bullying." Burt nodded as he had dealt with the same thing with his own son. "Do you know what your son did the first day of school?"

Burt shook his head as he was really unaware what had happened that day.

"Kurt reached out to Blaine. The kid was sitting under the slide crying about what some other kids said to him, and your son gave him a friend. And I just wanted to thank you for raising your boy like that."

Burt's eyes lit up as he was not only proud of himself and his wife, but he was proud of Kurt.

"So, Blaine tells me Kurt is a part of a Scout Den?" The men got up and they went into Stephen's "man-cave" where they discussed the sports and manly things that made up the scouts, which immediately sparked an interest in Steve.

* * *

Soon after, Burt said his good-byes then Blaine and Kurt went upstairs and got ready for bed in their pajamas. Blaine's were blue with cowboys on them and Kurt wore a red pair with space-ships on them. Upon seeing each other's appearance, they giggled (much like they had done in the Prince debacle) and began debating who would win in a battle between Cowboys and Aliens.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked as his eyes looked around the no-longer bare walls of their room.

"Yeah, Kurt?"

"Did you draw those?"

Blaine looked up at the pictures he had drawn that one special night a few weeks ago and smiled. His voice was soft and tired, and very raspy for a kid of his age. "Oh, yeah! That's us as Knights and you're saving me from a dragon and that's us on our wedding day!"

Kurt chuckled and thought about how they did actually get married and how he had coached a very uncomfortably nervous Blaine through proposing to him.

Blaine yawned and looked to Kurt.

Kurt yawned and looked to Blaine.

They simultaneously smiled at each other and said good-night as they drifted off to sleep. Kurt first, then Blaine. Blaine stared with sleepy eyes as his best friend soon fell asleep.

* * *

Kurt awoke to the smell of bacon and laughter. It was a different awakening than what he had experienced in the past, but at the Anderson house, it was normal . The bathroom door connected to their room opened and out walked Blaine fully dressed for the day in sweater vest and bowtie; his hair not yet gelled.

Kurt never knew that Blaine's hair could curl so extravagantly.

"Kurt! G'Morning!" A thirteen year old Blaine stood before Kurt, his outfit clad in festive colors for the Christmas season. Kurt sat up, eyes fluttering open in the bed that was 'his' at the Anderson household. He had spent almost every Friday night in this room (After Hummel Family Dinners, which were just him & his dad) and he planned to forever. It was Christmas Break, the sixth one since his mother's death and it was Christmas Eve. He planned to spend the entire day with his best friend, who had some sort of plot in mind.

"…What are you wearing?" Kurt asked, eyes fully opening at the sight of the outfit Blaine emerged with.

"Red skinny cords, festive yet untacky sweater vest, button up shirt, with a _real_ bowtie."  
"I have to admit, that's quite the stylish outfit you've got going, Anderson."  
"And you've yet to put on yours, _Hummel_. C'mon, Cooper's having breakfast with his girlfriend and you and I are going to go eat at that café at the mall in Cincinnati!"  
"You're joking!"

Blaine shook his head, grinning, plan set and invisible checklist checked.

"So you, Kurt Hummel, need to get dressed and my mom's gonna drive us there in about thirty minutes, so you need to hurry."

Kurt scrambled to his feet, grabbing clothes, deodorant, hair products and hustled into the bathroom, locking the door behind him; whilst Blaine sat on the bed, imagining the possibilities.


End file.
